Andy Williamson | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/profile/andy-williamson
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Thinktanks are in crisis. To survive, they must become 'do tanks' | Andy Williamsonhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/aug/27/thinktanks-crisis
For thinktanks to be effective, they must be imaginative and radical. But a funding crisis is making them increasing bland<p>Thinktanks have been part of the British political landscape for some time. Mostly, they do good work, making a considerable impact nationally and in more localised ways. For example, work on supporting the working poor by <a href="http://www.ippr.org" title="IPPR">the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR)</a>, for example, led directly to the development of <a href="http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits/start/who-qualifies/children/index.htm" title="HMRC: Children and tax credits">child tax credits</a> by the last Labour government, while the findings of the <a href="http://www.hansardsociety.org.uk/blogs/press_releases/archive/2005/05/24/parliament-is-failing-the-public-says-puttnam-commission-24-may-2005.aspx" title="Hansard Society: Parliament is failing the public, says Puttnam Commission - 24 May, 2005 ">Hansard Society's Puttnam commission</a> have led to significant increases in funding and support for outreach and educational services, making parliament more accessible, particularly to young people.</p><p>Recently, though, all has not been well in the world of thinktanks. Funding at the moment is fickle; thinktanks are reliant on benefactors, small donations, membership and paid-for work, usually from the public sector or trusts. Unlike the wealthy American policy institutes, British thinktanks rarely have wealthy endowments. And where they do, must be careful not to confuse <a href="http://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/" title="Institute for Government">fancy offices in SW1</a> with quality of research.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/aug/27/thinktanks-crisis">Continue reading...</a>ThinktanksDemosTax creditsPovertySocial exclusionFamily financesState benefitsPoliticsUK newsMoneySocietySat, 27 Aug 2011 09:59:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/aug/27/thinktanks-crisisPhotograph: John Stillwell/PAMichael Gove, secretary of state for education, addresses the Policy Exchange thinktank. Photograph: John Stillwell/PAPhotograph: John Stillwell/PAMichael Gove, secretary of state for education, addresses the Policy Exchange thinktank. Photograph: John Stillwell/PAAndy Williamson2011-08-27T09:59:01Z